Card-feeding mechanism.



E. V. BATES.

' CARD FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED 00'1.31, 190. 1,010,569. Patented Dec; 5, 1911;

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, E. v. BATES; CARD FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLIOATION FILED 00T.31, 1998.

1,010,569. Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

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EDDO V. BATES, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

CARD-FEEDING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

Application filed October 31, 1908. Serial No. 460,404.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Enoo V. BATES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Card-Feeding Mechanisms, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to card feeding mechanisms, such as are used to feed slivers or roving positively and diagonally by means of feed-rolls on a carrier which traverses the feed-apron at an angle other than a right angle to the path of the apron. Such an apron is shown in United States Patent, N o..18,888, to Apperly and Clissold and is a distinguishing feature of the so-called Apperly feed.

In modified forms of the Apperly feed now in use two feed-rolls are usually given a positive motion by means of two gears concentrically secured to said feed-rolls and engaging each other and also engaging one at a time, a rack which extends across the feed-apron. Said gears and feed-rolls are commonly supported upon a swiveling plate which is caused to turn at the end of the traverse of the carrier in such a manner that the gear in advance is always out of engagement with the rack and the following I gear, according to the direction of the motion of the carrier, is always in engagement with said rack. This change or swiveling takes place so quickly andthe weight of the swiveling plate and of the parts supported thereby is so great that the shock of the change wears therack near its endsvery rapidly and renders the gears liable to slide over the teeth of the rack at the ends of the racks, rendering the feed jerky and breaking the sliver. The rack and gears above named serve the purpose of feeding the sliver always in the same direction without regard to the direction in which the carrier is moving.

In the ordinary construction, the outside diameter of the feed-rolls obviously cannot exceed the diameter of the gears which drive them.

By the improvement hereinafter described, I dispense with the swiveling plate and keep both gears in constant engagement with the rack, thus avoiding the shock occasioned by the swiveling of the plate and the sudden engagement of the gear with the rack. I am enabled todo this because in my improved machine the gears do not engage I each other and are not rigidly attached to the feed-rolls, but are connected to them by a pawl and ratchet connection such that the gear turns the corresponding feed-roll in the feeding direction only and the teeth of each ratchet point in the opposite direction from the teeth of the other ratchet, so that only the following or rear feed-roll is positively driven at the same time, the other feed-roll or feed-roll in advance being carried by friction of the sliver running between the feed-rolls orby engagement of flutes with which each roll is provided. The feed-rolls are supportedupon movable holders which have a limited lateral movement on the carrier-body, and the power which causes the carrierto traverse is applied directly to the holder which supports the following roll, causing the rear feed-roll to be drawn toward the feed-roll in advance and to exertthe desired pressure upon the sliver .Withmyconstruction the diameter of the feed-rolls is not limited by the outside diameter of the gears (as the latter do not mesh with each other) and the said feed-rolls may be large enough to feed the sliver faster I also use a va- The feed-rolls when moved in than the carrier travels and thus relieve the 7 I sliver of all strain, and lessen the'liability of thelap to be thinner at the sides than in the middle.

In the .accompanyingwdrawing, on two sheets, Figure lis a plan ofthe feed carrier and its supporting anddriving mechanism; Fig. 2, a front elevation of the same; Flg. 3, a vertical cross section of *thecarriage and the parts supported thereby through the center of the feed-rolls and on the line 3 3 in Fig.7 Fig. 4, a "vertical section of a feed-roll on the line 4 4 in Fig. 6; Fig. 5, a plan of the feed-roll platesor holders; Fig. 6, a rear elevation of the carrier; Fig. 7, a left side elevation of said carrier, partly in section to show the means of varying the friction of the carrier on the horizontal guiderod, which with the presserplate, guide-rail and rack are shown in vertical transverse section.

The frame A, guide-rod B, guide-rail G, rack D, presser-plate E, endless chain F, carried by rolls f f one of which is positively driven, are all of the usual construc-' ticn and operation except as hereinafter stated. (See Figs-1, 2, and 7.)

The carrier-body G is supported and slides on the guide-rod B, the lower rear face of said body being held against the front face of the guide-rail G, by the weight of said carrier body, in the usual manner. In a broad transverse groove 9 in the platform g of the carrier G are guided two plates H H (Figs. 3, 5, 6, and 7) which have a limited lateral movement on said carrier. Each plate H H is provided with an extension h h which reaches'to the other plate and on the free end of each extension is cast or otherwise secured a vertical projection k h Between these projections 72 it the adjacent faces of which serve the same purpose as the sides of the vertical slot in the feeder or carrier of the Apperly feedg'the driving pin f or horizontal stop-pin carried by the chain F, extends forward between said projections k 71, and draws the carrier by means of the projection in advance, that is, by the projection on the rear plate, the projection on each plate extending past the extension of the other plate.

A vertical stud I I is rigidly secured in each plate H H and extends loosely down through a slot 9 g in the platform 9 of the carrier, each slot approaching the other near enough to allow the feed-rolls L L which turn on said studs to engage each other when one of said studs is at the outer endof its slot. The studs I I areflat-sided where they pass through the plates H H to prevent them from turning in said plates and are rigidly held in place by nuts 71 2' above said plates and by shoulders i i below said plates (Fig. 3). Below another shoulder i 2' on each stud I I is arranged a sleeve J J on the reduced upper end j of which is secured a feed-roll gear K K as by means of a screw is 70 which turns in a hole formed partly in said gear and partly in said reduced part. Both feedroll gears engage the rack D at all times but do not engage each other.

The feed-rolls L L are chambered out from beneath and have hubs Z Z which surround and have a running fit on the sleeves J J the upper ends of said hubs reaching to the lower sides of the gears K K and said feed-rolls resting upon collars or annular shoulders j j which project from said sleeves within the chambers of said feedrolls.

Below the shoulders 7' 7' are other.

circular enlargements j j of the sleeves J J whichloosely fill laterally the chambers of the feed rolls and keep said rolls concentric with the gear K K Below the enlarge- IltS j j are ratchet-wheels j j concentrlc with said sleeves J J and, like the parts j j j 7' cast thereon or otherwise rigidly secured thereto and arranged within the chambers of the feedrolls. The studs I I have enlarged heads 2' i at their lower ends which are preferably let into circular depressions in the undersides of the ratchetwheels j W. The teeth of each ratchet-wheel point in the opposite direction from the teeth of the other ratchet-wheel and each ratchetwheel is engaged by one or more pawls M M two being shown in each wheel, which pawls are merely short pins beveled on one side at m and caused by their own weigh-tto fall into such engagement (Fig. 4).

Obviously inasmuch as both feed-roll gears-K; K are in constant engagement with the rack D, they will both turn in the same direction, that is their adjacent sides will turn in opposite directions and only the rear or following gear turn in the proper feeding direction. The teeth of each ratchet-wheel therefore point in the direction necessary to give to the corresponding feed-roll the proper feeding movement when the feedroll is in the rear or following the other feed-roll while the teeth of the ratchet in advance are not engaged by the pawls of the feed-roll in advance but merely slip past them.

The variable tension device above referred to consists in a friction-producing block N, arranged in a radial perforation 9* in the arm 9 and pressed against the guide-rod B with variable force by the tension-screw n, which turns in said perforation g, the outer end of said perforation being screw-threaded at g to engage said screw n. I make the block N preferably of cork but may use any other suitable material.

By increasing the pressure of the block N on the guide-rail B the carrier will offer a greater resistance to the pull of the chain and that plate H or H which may be in the rear (according to the direction of movement of the carrier G) will need to be drawn with greater force in order to start said carrier and will therefore cause the corresponding rear feed-roll to press the sliver with greater force against the other or leading feed-roll,

I claim as my invention 1. The combination of a carrier, supporting and traversing means therefor, plates, each having an independent limited movement on said carrier toward the other plate, means for drawing said carrier by the plate in the rear, a feed-roll supported on each plate and rotatable thereon and movable therewith, and positive means for driving the rear feed-roll, the feed-roll in advance being driven by engagement with said rear feed-roll.

2. The combination of a carrier having an arm, a guide-rod on which said carrier is hung by said arm, means for traversing said carrier, plates, each having an independent limited movement on said carrier toward the other plate, means for drawing said carrier by the plate in the rear, a feed-roll supported on each plate and rotatable thereon and movable therewith, positive means for driving the rear feed-roll, the feed-roll in ad- Vance being driven by engagement with said rear feed-roll, and means for varying the friction between said carrier and guide-rod.

3. The combination of a guide-rod, a carrier having an arm by which said carrier is suspended from said rod, said arm having a perforation ending at said rod, a friction producing block arranged in said perforation against said rod, means for pressing said block against said rod, means for traversing said carrier, plates, each having an independent limited movement in said carrier toward the other plate, means for drawing said carrier by the plate in the rear, a feed-roll supported on each plate and rotatable thereon and movable therewith and positive means for driving the rear feedroll, the feed-roll in advance being driven by engagement with said rear feed-roll.

In witness whereof, I have aifixed my sig nature in presence of. two witnesses.

EDDO V. BATES. Witnesses:

ALBERT M. MOORE, WILLIAM F. CURTIN.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of ratents, Washington, D. 0. 

